MakeUseOf

4 smart home projects you should never DIY (even if the subreddit says you can)

Chris Hachey — Thu, 28 May 2026 21:00:19 GMT

Let's face it. We all wish we were handier than we are. Some people can seemingly fix anything. If you're like me, you revere these kinds of folks because you know you'll never be quite as adept at fixing things as they are.

I found the Google Maps feature that takes you back in time — I can't believe I missed it

Oluwademilade Afolabi — Thu, 28 May 2026 20:00:18 GMT

Google has been preserving snapshots of the world for years, including versions of places you thought were long gone. Your childhood street might still exist exactly as you remember it on Google's servers. The corner store that shut down years ago is still open. Your neighbor's old tree is still standing. Even the ugly green door your parents finally repainted in 2019 could still be there. Most people don't realize Google Maps has archived this history for more than a decade, or that anyone can access it.

These 5 Linux distros were popular until their developers disappeared

Oluwademilade Afolabi — Thu, 28 May 2026 19:30:19 GMT

I recently covered Linux distros that were once hugely popular but have since faded into obscurity, and one thing stood out in the comments: many readers didn't just recognize those names, they had a real history with them. These distros were people's first Linux installs, longtime daily drivers, rescue tools, or the projects that made Linux exciting before today's polished desktop experiences became the norm.

I didn't realize my Pixel camera could do this — now I use it differently

Shimul Sood — Thu, 28 May 2026 19:00:18 GMT

I’ve been using a Pixel phone for years, so I thought I already knew the camera inside out. Most of the time, I’d just open the app, tap the shutter, and trust Google’s processing to handle the rest. And to be fair, that approach works ridiculously well. But recently, while simply going through the camera app to find a particular setting, I accidentally started exploring features I had either ignored completely or never properly understood. A few of the tools instantly changed how I click photos, especially in situations I regularly struggle with.

What TPM actually does in Windows 11 — beyond being a system requirement checkbox

Gavin Phillips — Thu, 28 May 2026 18:30:17 GMT

Remember way back, when Microsoft first announced that Windows 11 required something called TPM 2.0? I sure remember the collective outrage from the tech community.

Spotify's latest updates are actually useful for once

Dave Schafer — Thu, 28 May 2026 18:15:08 GMT

On May 28, Spotify announced several upgrades to its mobile apps to help make the service easier to use. These are relatively small changes, but they actually add up to some big quality-of-life improvements — much more so than some of Spotify's other recent additions.

4 Windows 11 settings to turn on immediately: clipboard history, snap assist, storage sense, and more

Brandon Miniman — Thu, 28 May 2026 18:00:17 GMT

Windows has accumulated many features over the years—some of which are buried or even turned off by default—that can really enhance how you use your PC if you just know where to look for them. Things like precision window snapping, a full-featured clipboard manager, a tool that can give you back gigabytes of storage, and a brilliant volume mixer that lets you specify where audio output happens on an app-by-app basis, are just some of the tools available in Windows that are difficult to find but genuinely makes your PC feel more powerful. Let's look at some of these buried tools and how to use them.

These Google apps work better together than most people realize

Jack Mitchell — Thu, 28 May 2026 17:30:18 GMT

For the most part, I always used Google apps individually: Gmail for email, Maps for navigation, Keep for notes, Calendar for organization, and Gemini for AI assistance. However, one of the great things about the Google ecosystem is how well its apps work together. Over the past year or so, I’ve found that by combining their powers, I save time and have a smoother workflow.

M-DISC: the storage medium rated to outlast human civilization

Rob LeFebvre — Thu, 28 May 2026 17:00:19 GMT

You can buy a disc rated to last 1,000 years, but the company that invented it survived for less than a decade. The Millennial Disc, or M-DISC, is a write-once optical format that physically engraves its data onto a synthetic, rock-like layer that avoids the disc rot of standard optical storage media (which stores data with organic dye that can degrade over time). Unfortunately, Millenniata, Inc. filed for bankruptcy in 2016. While Verbatim still sells M-DISCs today, questions remain about whether the Blu-ray variants still use the same recording layer as the original.

Oura Ring 5 finally makes smart rings worth wearing — if you trust the company with your health data

Sara Heritage — Thu, 28 May 2026 16:47:54 GMT

For over a decade, smart rings have struggled to be anything more than jewelry that tracks basic heart data and sleep patterns. But the new Oura Ring 5, the smallest smart ring in the world, promises to be more than a fitness tracker — it is a proactive help platform that aims to connect daily biometrics with professional medical care.